Methods and apparatus for application of nested zero waste ear to traveling web

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method of providing a disposable product with zero waste ear formation and attaching the ears to a running chassis web.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority co-pending to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/500,519, filed 23 Jun. 2011, and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/509,438, filed 19 Jul. 2011, which areprovisional continuation-in-part applications of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/925,033, filed 12 Oct. 2010, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/798,520, filed 5 Apr. 2010, whichis now U.S. Pat. No. 8,172,977, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/212,011, filed 6 Apr. 2009,U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/212,619, filed 14 Apr.2009, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/151,667, filed 8 May 2008,which is now U.S. Pat. No. 8,016,972, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/928,305, filed 9 May 2007,and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/806,891, filed 24 Aug. 2010, which is a continuation U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/436,274, filed 18 May 2006, which is now U.S.Pat. No. 7,780,052.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to disposable hygiene products and morespecifically, to methods and apparatuses for processing disposablehygiene products. More specifically, the invention relates to cuttingand applying segments of one web to attach to a disposable diaper.

The invention disclosed herein also relates to apparatus and methods forwaste reduction. Generally, diapers comprise an absorbent insert orpatch and a chassis, which, when the diaper is worn, supports the insertproximate a wearer's body. Additionally, diapers may include othervarious patches, such as tape tab patches, reusable fasteners and thelike. The raw materials used in forming a representative insert aretypically cellulose pulp, tissue paper, poly, nonwoven web, acquisition,and elastic, although application specific materials are sometimesutilized. Usually, most of the insert raw materials are provided in rollform, and unwound and applied in assembly line fashion. As in manymanufacturing operations, waste minimization is a goal in web processingapplications, as products having spliced raw materials cannot be sold toconsumers. Indeed, due to the rate at which web processing machines run,even minimal waste can cause inefficiencies of scale.

In present systems, waste materials are recycled. However, the act ofharvesting recyclable materials from defective product is intensive.That is, recyclable materials are harvested only after an identificationof a reject product at or near the end of a process. The result is thatrecyclable materials are commingled, and harvesting requires the extrastep of separating waste components. Therefore, it is beneficial to useup all of incoming rolls, so that a portion of the incoming rolls do notbecome waste. That objective is accomplished with the present invention

When manufacturing hygiene products, such as baby diapers, adultdiapers, disposable undergarments, incontinence devices, sanitarynapkins and the like, a common method of applying discrete pieces of oneweb to another is by use of a slip-and-cut applicator. A slip-and-cutapplicator is typically comprised of a cylindrical rotating vacuumanvil, a rotating knife roll, and a transfer device. In typicalapplications, an incoming web is fed at a relatively low speed along thevacuum face of the rotating anvil, which is moving at a relativelyhigher surface speed and upon which the incoming web is allowed to“slip”. A knife-edge, mounted on the rotating knife roll, cuts a off asegment of the incoming web against the anvil face. This knife-edge ispreferably moving at a surface velocity similar to that of the anvil'ssurface. Once cut, the web segment is held by vacuum drawn through holeson the anvil's face as it is carried at the anvil's speed downstream tothe transfer point where the web segment is transferred to the travelingweb.

Continual improvements and competitive pressures have incrementallyincreased the operational speeds of disposable diaper converters. Asspeeds increased, the mechanical integrity and operational capabilitiesof the applicators had to be improved accordingly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention allows for square, and non-square, and preferablytrapezoidal, ear webs to be applied to a traveling web, with zero orminimized waste present in the incoming ear web. Zero material is wasteddue to the geometry of the chosen ear pattern and its downstreamprocessing.

An ear is a component of a diaper that is grasped and pulled around thewaist of a wearer. Typically, ears are secured to the diaper at a firstend, and a second free end is typically equipped with securing means,such as a pressure sensitive adhesive, or hook and loop material. As auser grasps an ear and pulls the ear, elasticity provided about thewaist region of the diaper allows the free end to be snugly pulled aboutthe waist of a wearer, and coupled to the diaper. Ears can berectangular or made of irregular shapes.

The present invention provides a process wherein a rotary knife or die,with one or more cutting edges, turns against and in coordination with acorresponding cylinder to create preferably trapezoidal ears. Earmaterial is slit into two lanes, one for a left side of a diaper and theother for a right side of a diaper. Fastening tapes are applied to boththe right and the left ear webs. The ear material is then die cut with anested pattern on a synchronized vacuum anvil.

The resulting discrete ear pieces however, due to the trapezoidalpattern of the ears, alternate between a correct orientation and anincorrect (reversed) orientation. The reversed ear is required to berotated 180° into the correct orientation such that the ears andassociated tape present a left ear and a right ear on the diaper.

To accomplish the reversal of the ear pattern, discrete ear pieces arepicked up at the nested ear pitch by an ear turner assembly that willexpand to a pitch large enough for ears to be unnested and allowclearance for every other ear to be rotated. The rotated ears are thenunnested and into the correct orientation.

Two ear turner assemblies can be provided, to rotate every other earapplied to the right side of the product, and every other ear applied tothe left side of the product. In this manner, for a single product, oneof the two ears will have been rotated 180°.

Ear application to a chassis web can be by a bump method (describedlater) with intermittent adhesive applied to the chassis web, or can beby vacuum transfer.

The present invention also allows for two side panel assemblies,including fastening mechanisms, to be attached to two ears, the sidepanel assemblies attached in a pre-folded condition. Two more ears cancoupled to a chassis web to create a front panel to wear about the waistof a user.

The present invention also allows for chips of material to be removedfrom the ears to provide a diaper with contoured leg openings. In oneembodiment, the chips may be removed from the ears before the ears areattached to the chassis web. In an additional embodiment the chips maybe removed from the ears after the ears are attached to the chassis web.In an additional embodiment the chips may be removed from the ears and aportion of the chassis web removed after the ears are attached to thechassis web.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a Prior Art process;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a disposable diaper product carrying a pair ofears;

FIG. 3 is a top view of an ear forming web including an individual eardetached from the web;

FIG. 4 is a front view of an anvil roll carrying two ear webs;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a nested zero waste back ear applicatordevice and methods of the present invention;

FIG. 5a is a schematic view of a nested zero waste back ear applicatordevice and methods of the present invention, with an alternate web pathconfiguration;

FIG. 6 shows an alternate ear pattern and alternate ear sizes;

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, 7E, and 7F are top views of ear webs, FIG. 7Ashowing non-rotated alternating die cut ear webs, and FIG. 7B showingalternating rotated die cut ear webs, and FIGS. 7C, 7D, 7E, and 7Fshowing alternate ear configurations;

FIG. 8 is a perspective schematic view of the nested zero waste back earapplicator device and methods of the present invention;

FIG. 8a is a perspective schematic view of the nested zero waste backear applicator device and methods of the present invention with analternate web path configuration;

FIG. 9 is a side view of an ear turner assembly device used to rotatealternating ears;

FIG. 10a is front view of the ear turner assembly device used to rotatealternating ears;

FIG. 10b is front view of the ear turner assembly device used to rotatealternating ears, showing an alternate embodiment of a puck, configuredto match in shape and size alternate ear design;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of two ear turner assembly devices used torotate alternating ears on a left and a right ear web;

FIG. 12 is a side view of an ear turner assembly device used to rotatealternating ears;

FIG. 13 is a front view two ear turner assembly devices used to rotatealternating ears on a left and a right ear web;

FIG. 14 is a side view of an ear turner assembly device used to rotatealternating ears;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the ear turner assembly device used torotate alternating ears shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 16 is a front view of an anvil, ultrasonic bonding ring, and vacuumpattern used for pitch changing ears from a slower web and applying andbonding the ears to a faster moving chassis web;

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the nested zero waste back ear applicatordevice and methods of the present invention, shown with an alternateembodiment of a means for applying the ear to the chassis web.

FIGS. 18-28 are schematic and plan views of methods of performing nestedzero waste back ear application including a multi-component ear portion.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of an ear tab forming material (or wing, nonwovenweb);

FIG. 19 is a plan view of an ear tab forming material following slittingand spreading;

FIG. 19a is a schematic view of formation of a side panel assembly;

FIG. 20 is a plan view of a side-panel assembly coupled to the ear tabforming material;

FIG. 21 is a plan view of the side-panel assembly coupled to the ear tabforming material, after the side-panel assembly has been folded;

FIGS. 22 and 23 are a plan view of the side-panel assembly coupled tothe ear tab forming material, after the side-panel assembly has beenfolded, and during and after re-phasing of the side panel and wingassembly;

FIG. 24 is a plan view of the side panel and wing assembly being diecut, re-pitched, and rotated;

FIG. 25 is a plan view of the side panel and wing assembly followingcutting, re-pitching and rotation;

FIG. 26 is a plan view of the side panel and wing assembly being coupledto a chassis assembly;

FIG. 27 is a plan view of the side panel and wing assembly, coupled tothe chassis assembly, and folded into the profile of the chassisassembly;

FIG. 28 is an in-use plan view of an inventive disposable product formedby the methods of the present invention.

FIGS. 29-42 are schematic and plan views of methods of assembling adisposable product, including forming a nested zero waste ear to anested zero waste wing portion, attaching ear and wing portions to achassis top sheet, and folding the product to form a folded diaper.

FIG. 29 is a plan view of an ear tab forming material (or wing, nonwovenweb);

FIG. 30 is a plan view of an ear tab forming material following slittingand spreading;

FIGS. 30-32 are a schematic view of formation of an ear assembly beingslit, spread, tapes added, and the ear cut, repitched and rotated;

FIGS. 33-34 shown formation of a slit and spread wing web;

FIG. 35 shows the ear bonded to the wing web;

FIG. 36 shows the ear being folded down and temporarily coupled to thewing;

FIGS. 37-38 shown die cutting, repitching and rotating the wing assemblywhile carrying the ear assembly;

FIG. 39 is a plan view of the side panel and wing assembly being coupledto a chassis assembly;

FIG. 40 is a plan view of the side panel and wing assembly, coupled tothe chassis assembly, and folded into the profile of the chassisassembly;

FIG. 41 is an in-use plan view of an inventive disposable product formedby the methods of the present invention;

FIG. 42 is a cross section view of an inventive disposable productformed by the methods of the present invention;

FIGS. 43-60 are schematic and plan views of methods of assembling adisposable product;

FIG. 61 is a plan view of wing assemblies coupled to a chassis assemblywith chips removed from the wing assemblies;

FIG. 62 is a plan view of wing assemblies coupled to a chassis assemblywith chips removed from the wing assemblies and chassis assembly;

FIG. 63 is a perspective view of a trim removal system of the presentinvention, with an infeed chassis web, and a chip to be removedtherefrom;

FIG. 64 is a two dimensional representation of the trim removal systemof FIG. 63;

FIG. 65 is a cross sectional view of a trim removal system;

FIG. 66 is a schematic view of a trim removal system receiving anarticle from a transfer roll in an initial chip engaging position;

FIG. 67 is a schematic view of the trim removal system separating afirst article from a second article;

FIG. 68 is a schematic view of the trim removal system separating trimfrom the first article;

FIG. 69 is a schematic view of the trim removal system discharging thetrim;

FIG. 70 is a schematic view of the trim removal system returning to itsinitial chip engaging position;

FIG. 71 is a schematic view of the trim removal system returned to itsinitial chip engaging position;

FIGS. 72-75 are plan views of the position of the chip relative to theweb, demonstrating the ripping effects of the present invention;

FIG. 76 is a plan view of a web of wing assemblies with chips removedfrom each wing assembly;

FIG. 77 is a plan view of wing assemblies with chips removed from theselected wing assemblies;

FIG. 78 is a plan view of wing assemblies coupled to a chassis assemblywith chips removed from the wing assemblies and chassis assembly.

FIG. 79 is a plan view of a product variation showing a slip/cut appliedfront ear, alternately rotated back ears, and extension panels extendingfrom the back ears;

FIG. 80 is a plan view of a product variation showing a slip/cut appliedfront ear, alternately rotated back ears, and extension panels extendingfrom the back ears, and a die cut chassis;

FIG. 81 is a plan view of a product variation showing a slip/cut appliedfront ear, alternately rotated back ears, and extension panels extendingfrom the back ears, die cut front and back ear portions, and a die cutchassis;

FIG. 82 is a plan view of a product variation showing alternatelyrotated front ears, alternately rotated back ears, and extension panelsextending from the back ears;

FIG. 83 is a plan view of a product variation showing alternatelyrotated front ears, alternately rotated back ears, extension panelsextending from the back ears, and a die cut chassis;

FIG. 84 is a plan view of a product variation showing alternatelyrotated front ears, alternately rotated back ears, extension panelsextending from the back ears, a die cut chassis, and die cut ears;

FIG. 85 is a plan view of a product variation showing slip/cut appliedfront ears, and alternately rotated back ears;

FIG. 86 is a plan view of a product variation showing slip/cut appliedfront ears, and alternately rotated back ears, and a die cut chassis;

FIG. 87 is a plan view of a product variation showing slip/cut appliedfront ears, and alternately rotated back ears, a die cut chassis, anddie cut ears;

FIG. 88 is a plan view of a product variation showing alternatelyrotated applied front ears, and alternately rotated back ears;

FIG. 89 is a plan view of a product variation showing alternatelyrotated applied front ears, and alternately rotated back ears, and a diecut chassis;

FIG. 90 is a plan view of a product variation showing alternatelyrotated applied front ears, and alternately rotated back ears, a die cutchassis, and die cut ears.

FIG. 91 is a schematic plan view of an extension panel nonwoven web,receiving tapes, which are folded. A stretch laminate web is provided,which receives slit and spread extension panels of the extension panelnonwoven, and the combination stretch laminate web, coupled with theextension panels holding folded ears, is itself slit and spread;

FIG. 92 is a side panel nonwoven web with chip portions;

FIG. 93 is the side panel nonwoven web having received (preferably byslip/cut techniques) discrete pieces of the slit and spread combinationstretch laminate web, coupled with the extension panels holding foldedears;

FIG. 94 is the side panel nonwoven web having received (preferably byslip/cut techniques) discrete pieces of the slit and spread combinationstretch laminate web, coupled with the extension panels holding foldedears, with the discrete pieces of the slit and spread combinationstretch laminate web, coupled with the extension panels holding foldedears folded over;

FIG. 95 shows the components of FIG. 94 slit and spread;

FIG. 96 shows the slit and spread components of FIG. 95, with chipremoval;

FIG. 97 shows the slit and spread components of FIG. 96 after chipremoval, the components spread apart;

FIG. 98 shows the components of FIG. 98 applied to a chassis web;

FIG. 99 shows a plan view of a finished diaper in a laid open position;

FIG. 100 shows an alternate chip pattern for use in the construction ofFIGS. 91-99.

FIG. 101 shows an apparatus for placing ears on a chassis web, with zerowaste, from a single incoming lane.

FIG. 102 is a side perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 101;

FIG. 103 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 101.

FIG. 104 are additional symmetrical ear patterns that can be formed witha single incoming web.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable thoseskilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodimentsherein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied inother specific structures. While the preferred embodiment has beendescribed, the details may be changed without departing from theinvention, which is defined by the claims.

Referring to the drawings there is seen in FIG. 1 a diagrammaticillustration of a prior art process for applying tabs to webs in adiaper making process, to result in an intermediate product shown inFIG. 2. The present invention can use this prior art method of affixingthe segments 12 to the web 10, with a different anvil, the new anvil 114described below. Web 10 is a composite material used in formation ofdiapers which is generally formed of various layers of material such asplastic back sheets, absorbent pads and nonwoven top sheets. A series ofears 12 are applied to web 10. In the illustrated process of FIG. 1, arotatable vacuum anvil 14 is used to supply the ears 12 to web 10. Anvil14 has internally reduced air pressure or vacuum (not shown), and aplurality of openings 24 are provided through its surface to enablesuction of the tab segments 12 against the anvil surface 14. A web ofthe ear tab forming material 16 is fed by rollers 20 and 22 against theanvil surface 14 where it is cut into segments by a rotary knife 18.

The surface of the anvil roll 14 can have vacuum holes 24 on its smoothsurface. In a typical configuration of a slip-and-cut applicator, thereis a pattern of vacuum holes 24 distributed to evenly draw the enteringweb onto the surface of anvil 14 and thence into the cut point where theknife edge 18 engages the anvil 14.

It can be seen from FIG. 1 that in the prior art, the infeed of the eartab forming material 16 can be at a first speed (with individual ears 12spaced together), after which the individual ears gain speed to thespeed of the anvil 14. Typical infeed speeds could be 120 mm/product forthe infeed, while anvil speeds could be 450 mm/product on the anvil.This transition from the slower first speed to the quicker second speedtakes place at the cut point, the ear tab forming material 16 slippingon the anvil 14 until cut. However, immediately at the transition cutpoint 18 from the slower speed to the faster speed, it is desired toplace vacuum on the ears because centrifugal force would try to throwthe ears off of the vacuum anvil 14.

Ear webs 16 can be comprised of two portions, 12 a and 12 b, as shown inFIG. 2. Segment 12 a is more specifically referred to as the tab sectionof the ear 12, segment 12 b is the ribbon section of the ear 12.

Alternatively, the ears can comprise a trapezoidal shape, as shown inFIGS. 6, 7A and 7B, which will be described later. The trapezoidal shapeof FIGS. 7A and 7B is particularly advantageous for zero wasteapplications, where it is desired to reduce or eliminate the scrappingof raw material. In another zero waste technique, two parallel series ofalternating ear webs 16 with ribbon sections of the ear 12 could becreated by mirroring the web 16 as shown in FIG. 3 and placing themirrored web down one/half of an ear length (not shown).

Referring now to FIG. 4, a front view of an anvil roll 114 is showncarrying ear forming material (and later, individual ears 12) inphantom. The anvil roll 114 is preferably formed with two vacuumportions 116 separated by a center groove portion 118. The vacuumportions 116 are preferably mirror images of each other. The anvil roll114 is symmetrical about a center plane through its circumference. Eachvacuum portion 116 contains several circumferential rows of circularvacuum holes 24. Each vacuum portion 116 may also contain acircumferential groove 120 with an additional circumferential row ofvacuum holes 24 located in the circumferential groove 120.

Still referring to FIG. 4, two diametrically opposed anvil pockets 122and two diametrically opposed pairs of ear retaining portions 124 areshown. The ear retaining portions can be created as inserts, withdifferent vacuum patterns applied as the user deems necessary. Eachanvil pocket 122 is a groove which extends across the face of the entireanvil roll 114. One ear retaining portion 124 is located on each of thevacuum portions 116. Each ear retaining portion 124 has an ear vacuumhole pattern 126 made of a plurality of vacuum holes 24 located at ornear the surface of the anvil roll 144. A plurality of rows of vacuumholes 24 can be employed, each row having a plurality of vacuum holes24, although more or less than those configurations or patterns showncan be used.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a schematic view of a nested zero waste earapplicator device and methods of the present invention are shown.Components of this ear applicator include a web slitter 210, whichprocesses incoming ear web material 16 into two parallel paths (notshown from this view). After being slit, ear web material is processedby tape applicator 220, which can add tape to the ears for securing theears 12 about the waist of a wearer.

After slitting and application of the tape to the ear web 16, an ear dieis used to cut the ear web 16 into the pattern shown in FIG. 7A. The earmaterial 16 is die cut with a nested pattern on a synchronized vacuumanvil/die combination 230/232 and carried by rotation or otherwise to anear turner assembly 200.

Referring still to FIG. 5, the cutting edges of the ear dies 230 turnagainst and in coordination with a corresponding anvil 232 to createpreferably trapezoidal ears. It is noted that as shown in FIG. 6, ears12 having different heights, H1 and H2, can be produced in thisconfiguration by speeding up or slowing down the infeed rate of material16 into the anvil/die combination 230/232. In this manner, more or lessslip is allowed on material 16 prior to cutting, resulting in longer orshorter ears.

Because the ear material 16 has already been slit into two lanes, onefor a left side of a diaper and the other for a right side of a diaper,it is noted that two parallel ear dies 230 are used to produce thepattern shown in FIG. 7A to the slit web 16, but because of the sidevantage point of FIG. 5a only one of the lanes is visible if more thanone is desired.

The resulting discrete ear pieces however, due to the trapezoidalpattern of the ears shown in FIG. 7A, alternate between a correctorientation A and an incorrect (reversed) orientation B. The reversedears B are required to be rotated 180° into the correct orientation Asuch that the ears and associated tape present a left ear and a rightear on the diaper, such as that shown on FIG. 7B. In correct orientationA, such as shown in FIG. 7B, the shorter of the parallel edges of thetrapezoid will face toward an outside, left for the left side, and rightfor the right side. This geometry is desirable to accommodate the legsof the wearer when the ears 12 are pulled about the waist of the wearer.

To accomplish the reversal of the ear pattern, discrete ear pieces arepicked up at the nested ear pitch by an ear turner assembly 200 (seeFIGS. 5 and 8) that has a series of pucks 234 that travel radially froma minimal radius R1 (and therefore a minimal tangential speed) to amaximal radius R2 (and therefore a maximal tangential speed) at adepositional site. The difference between R1 and R2 is such thatindividual pucks 235 can be unnested and allow clearance (in the radialdirection from adjacent pucks 234) for every other ear to be rotated, aswill be described later in relation to FIGS. 10a and 10b . The rotatedears are then unnested and into the correct orientation and brought tothe proper speed for deposition onto either an additional vacuum drum(as shown on FIG. 5a ) and subsequently onto web 10 or high vacuum drum250.

Referring to FIG. 7A, two lanes of ears 12 are depicted, 16A and 16Brepresenting right and left ears intended for a product. The longestside of the ears 12 is intended for attachment to web 10, so becausetrapezoids are desirable, every other trapezoid in each lane willrequire 180° rotation to allow the desired side (for example, thelongest side) of the ear 12 to be confronted with attachment to web 10.All of the “B” labeled ears 12 on supply 16A will be rotated 180° intoan A position. All of the “B” labeled ears on supply 16B will be rotated180° into an A orientation position to achieve the desired depositionalorientation shown in FIG. 7B.

It is noted that ear configurations can vary as shown in FIGS. 7C-7F. InFIGS. 7C and 7D, wavy or curved ear patterns are shown. In FIG. 7E, asquare pattern is shown. In FIG. 7F, a trapezoidal pattern is shown.Chips may be cut out in any shape of ear patterns, such as such in FIG.7F. The chips can be of any shape or size, and can be positioned eitheron edges of the ears or on the interior of the ears.

Referring now back to FIG. 5, following rotation of every “B” labeledear 12, each ear is deposited onto vacuum drum 240, rotated and pickedup by high vacuum drum 250. Vacuum drum 240 is a size change roll thatmatches pitch. Vacuum drum 240 can also be used as a roller, inconjunction with or replacing roller 260, FIG. 16.

Because the ears 12 need to be sped up to match the speed of chassis web10, the rotation of high vacuum drum 250 is quicker than that of vacuumdrum 240. The higher vacuum in drum 250 relative to drum 240 allows theears 12 to be snatched or grabbed at the higher rotational speed presentin drum 250.

Referring now to FIG. 5a , a schematic view of a nested zero waste backear applicator device and methods of the present invention is shown,with an alternate web path configuration.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a perspective schematic view of the nested zerowaste back ear applicator device and methods of the present invention isshown. As can be seen, two ear turner assemblies 200R (right) and 200L(left) are provided, to rotate every other ear 12 applied to the rightside of the chassis web 10, and every other ear 12 applied to the leftside of the chassis web 10. In this manner, for a single product, one ofthe two ears will have been rotated 180°. As can be seen from FIG. 8,two types of pucks are provided, non-rotating pucks 234A and rotatingpucks 234B. The non-rotating pucks 234A carry the “A” ears shown in FIG.7A, or the ones that do not require rotation. The rotating pucks 234Bcarry the “B” ears shown in FIG. 7A. As the ear turner assemblies 200Rand 200L go through their rotation, ears 12 are picked up from the eardie/anvil station 230/232 and rotate about the rotator 200, while everyrotating puck 234B also rotates radially during rotation of the rotator200, as will be described later.

The ears 12 are then deposited onto chassis web 10 and bonded thereto,for instance by ultrasonic bonding ring 252, where the resulting productis sent downstream for further processing.

Referring now to FIG. 8a , a perspective schematic view of the nestedzero waste back ear applicator device and methods of the presentinvention with an alternate web path configuration is shown. This is thepreferred embodiment of the vacuum drum/ultrasonic bonding ring 250/252in relation to the vacuum drum 240. In this configuration, the ears areultrasonically bonded to the chassis web 10 between the vacuumdrum/ultrasonic bonding ring 250/252 and the vacuum drum 240 as thechassis web 10 travels from right to left as pictured.

Referring now to FIG. 9 a side view of the ear turner assembly device200 is shown. The ear turner assembly device 200 used to rotatealternating ears, again with the entire device 200, rotating about acentral axis, and each puck 234 traveling radially from a minimal radiusR1 to a maximal radius R2 at a depositional site during rotation, andthen back to the minimal radius R1. The difference between R1 and R2 issuch that individual pucks 235 can be unnested and allow clearance forevery other ear to be rotated. Comparing the During rotation from the R1to the R2 position, rotating pucks 234B undergo not only the increase inradius, but also undergo 180° rotation about an axis perpendicular tothe central axis. This can be performed preferably with a screwoperation (reference letter S, FIG. 12). During rotation from the R2position back to the R1 position, the rotating pucks 234B rotate backthrough their 180° rotation to get to their initial position by use of ayankee screw, which is capable of both advancing and retracting thepucks 234B, and rotating the pucks 234B, upon driving the shaft of theyankee screw inward and outward radially.

Referring now to FIG. 10a , a front view of the ear turner assemblydevice 200 used to rotate alternating ears is shown. As can be seen, thepucks 234 are each equipped with vacuum voids 236 through which a vacuumis pulled, retaining ears on the rotator device 200 through theirrotation (radially rotating for every ear, radially and axially rotatingfor every other ear) until deposition. As can be seen, the pucks 234 arecan be roughly trapezoidal in shape to roughly match the shape of theears 12. It is also seen from this view that the non-rotating pucks 234Aremain in their axial non-rotated position relative to the rotatingpucks 234B, which rotate from their initial position nested between twonon-rotating pucks 234A, and back.

Referring now to FIG. 10B, an alternate shape of the pucks 234 is shown.In FIG. 10A, the pucks 234 are configured to receive wavy shaped ears asdescribed earlier. In FIG. 10B, the pucks 234 are configured to receivetrapezoidal shaped ears as described earlier. It is preferable toconfigure the pucks 234 to match the desired ear pattern.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a perspective view of the two ear turnerassembly devices 200R and 200L are shown. Also shown are vacuummanifolds used to apply the vacuum to the pucks 234. In this sense, therotation of the pucks 234 is described in currently pending U.S.application Ser. No. 11/244,387, which is incorporated herein byreference. A front view of this configuration is shown in FIG. 13 and aside view in FIG. 14.

Referring now to FIG. 12 a mechanism for rotating pucks 234 b is shown.There, it is seen that screws 236 are provided such that movement of thepucks 234B away from the center axis simultaneously causes rotation ofpuck 234B. A radially traveling coupling 238 couples the puck with thescrew 236, and when the threads of the screw are engaged with theradially traveling coupling 238, rotation is caused.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the ear turner assembly device 200used to rotate alternating ears along the line shown in FIG. 12.Particularly, screws 236 are operably coupled with pucks or rotatorassemblies 234. By rotation of the screw 236, pucks 234 are moved alonga radial line in relation to shaft turner 246. Vacuum manifold 244 isprovided to commute vacuum to the pucks 234 and ultimately to hold theears in place. Ear turner cam 242 is provided for rotative purposes.

Referring now to FIG. 16, a front view of a rotatable vacuum wheel 114,ultrasonic bonding ring 252, and vacuum pattern 124 used for pitchchanging ears from a slower web and applying and bonding the ears 12sandwiched between roller 260 and the anvil 114 to a faster movingchassis web is shown.

In this embodiment, the aggressive vacuum pattern 124 on high vacuumdrum 250 will have withdrawn ears 12 from vacuum drum 240. This stepfollows the rotation of the “B” ears as described above. The chassis web10 is fed in between the roller 260 and the high vacuum drum 250. Theultrasonic bonding ring 252 couples the ears 12 with the chassis web 10(refer to FIG. 5).

Referring now to FIG. 17, a schematic view of the nested zero waste backear applicator device 200 an alternate embodiment of a means forapplying the ear 12 to the chassis web 10 is shown. Instead of thevacuum porting system as previously described, a protuberance carryingrotatable body 274 is urged against the chassis web 10, as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 6,475,325, which is incorporated herein as if fully setforth. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,475,325 is referred to as the“bump transfer” method. In this embodiment intermittent adhesive isapplied to the chassis web 10 at station 270. The intermittent adhesiveis applied at intervals to make contact with ears 12 carried by rotatingbody 200. The protuberance carried by body 274 urges the chassis web 10towards an ear 12 carried by a puck 234. With the ear 12 coupled withthe chassis web, the coupled material is processed by final bondingstation 272, after which the ear/chassis combination is sent downstreamfor further processing as desired.

Referring generally to FIGS. 18-28, schematic and plan views arepresented of a novel disposable garment configuration using methods ofperforming nested zero waste back ear application including amulti-component ear portion fabrication, bonding and folding. Theembodiments of FIGS. 18-28 are particularly well suited for formation ofwhat is called in the industry as an adult-sized diaper.

One difficulty with adult-sized products is sheer size. The products arerequired to be quite large (for instance, 32″ wide in a non-stretchedcondition) in the waist section to fit about the waist of an adult.However, the adult-sized products are typically shipped in packagesabout 8″ wide, so the products require folding, particularly at thewaist zone where the product is the widest, in order to be compactlypackaged and shipped.

The prior art often employed a Z-fold of ears to get the waist band downto size. For instance, the ears 12 applied to web 10 shown in FIG. 2would have to be folded as to not extend much past the profile of thechassis web 10. This assists both processing of the web as it avoidsflying parts, but also assists packaging and transport of the material.

The embodiments of FIGS. 18-28 show construction of an ear segment thatcan be formed of multiple pieces, as opposed to the one piece ears ofthe prior art (see, e.g., ears 12 of FIG. 2). This allows both creationof a contoured multi-piece ear segment, as well as assembly of at leastportions of the ear segment in a pre-folded condition.

Referring now to FIG. 18, a plan view of an ear tab forming material 316is shown entering the system similarly positioned to material 16 shownon FIG. 8 or 8 a. Preferably the ear tab forming material (or wing) 116is a non-woven continuous web of material which is ultimately formedinto shaped ear portions 312. Shaped ear portions 312, as described withrespect to FIGS. 7a-7f , can take on different shapes, and can havecorrect original orientation, or orientation that requires re-phasing orturning as described above.

In a preferred embodiment ear portions 312 of the present invention willhave side panel assembly receiving ear portion configurations 312 a and312 d, and non-receiving ear portion configurations 312 b and 312 c aswill be described later.

Referring to FIG. 19, the ear tab forming material 316 is slit andspread, for instance as shown on FIG. 8 at station 210. Lanes 316 a and316 b of slit and spread ear tab forming material 316 receive the sidepanel assemblies described in FIG. 19a , and ultimately become left andright ear segments on a disposable product.

Referring now to FIG. 19a , a schematic view of formation of side panelassemblies 320 is shown. The formation of side panel assemblies 320begins with an outer non-woven web material 318, which is slit andspread into discrete non-woven web portions 318 a, 318 b, 318 c, and 318d, each of the non-woven web portions also preferably being cut in thecross-machine direction into the preferred size.

To each of the discrete non-woven web portions 318 a, 318 b, 318 c, and318 d, one or more fastening mechanisms 322 are applied. Fasteningmechanisms 322 can be tape tabs, covered tape tabs, strips of hook andloop material, continuous hook and loop material, patches of hook andloop material, etc. The fastening mechanisms 322 will be unfastened andrefastened about the waist of the user to tighten the disposable garmentabout the waist.

Next, the non-woven webs 318 carrying fastening mechanisms 322 arefolded over, creating a folded web 318 and folded fastening mechanisms322′. This causes the combination of the non-woven web 318 and thefastening mechanisms 322 to be narrower than the discrete non-woven webportions 318 a, 318 b, 318 c, and 318 d. It is noted that the foldedfastening mechanisms 322′ of web portions 318 a and 318 b will haveopposing fastening mechanisms 322′ as they will become the right andleft hip waist fastening mechanisms, respectively, once placed about thewaist of a user (shown later in the process).

In addition to the discrete non-woven web portions 318 a, 318 b, 318 c,and 318 d, a stretch laminate web 324 is also provided. This too is slitand spread into discrete stretch laminate web portions 324 a, 324 b, 324c, and 324 d.

Next, the non-woven web portions 318 a, 318 b, 318 c, and 318 d,including their respective fastening mechanisms 322′, are bonded tostretch laminate web portions 324 a, 324 b, 324 c, and 324 drespectively, forming the side panel assemblies 320 in four differentlanes, 318 a+324 a, 318 b+324 b, 318 c+324 c, and 318 d+324 d. Thenon-woven web portions 318 a, 318 b, 318 c, and 318 d can be bonded tothe stretch laminate web portions 324 a, 324 b, 324 c, and 324 d in anyfashion, such as by ultrasonic bonding using a mechanism such as shownin FIG. 16, by lap seams, by adhesives, fin seams, etc.

The stretch laminate portions 324 a, 324 b, 324 c, and 324 d can also befolded if desired, or the stretch laminate portions 324 a, 324 b, 324 c,and 324 d in combination with the non-woven web portions 318 a, 318 b,318 c, and 318 d can all be folded together and again.

Referring now to FIG. 20, a plan view of a side-panel assembly 320coupled to the ear tab forming material is shown. In a preferredembodiment, side-panel assembly 320, and particularly the panel 320having configuration 318 a+324 a (from FIG. 19), is slip-cut onto thetop of lane 316 a, and particularly slip-cut and coupled to ear portionconfiguration 312 a.

Similarly, side-panel assembly 320, and particularly the panel 320having configuration 318 b+324 b (from FIG. 19), is slip-cut onto thebottom of lane 316 a, and particularly slip-cut and coupled to earportion configuration 312 d.

In lane 316 b, side-panel assembly 320, and particularly the panel 320having configuration 318 c+324 c (from FIG. 19), is slip-cut onto thetop of lane 316 b, and particularly slip-cut and coupled to ear portionconfiguration 312 d.

Similarly, side-panel assembly 320, and particularly the panel 320having configuration 318 d+324 d (from FIG. 19), is slip-cut onto thebottom of lane 316 b, and particularly slip-cut and coupled to earportion configuration 312 a.

The panels 320 can be coupled to the slit and spread ear tab formingmaterial 316 in any fashion. Preferred methods may include ultrasonicbonding, adhesive bonding, heat, etc. Also, the coupling between thepanels 320 and the ear tab forming material 316 could be contained in,or be a portion of a larger laminate involving other materials andbonds.

Next, referring now to FIG. 21, the side-panel assemblies 320 have beenfolded over (or under) the ear tab forming material 316, to conform to,and preferably be narrower than, the ear portions 312 of lanes 316 a and316.

It is desirable to process the combination of the side-panel assemblies320 temporarily staked to the ear tab forming material 316 together, sothat components do not become entangled in the machinery duringprocessing. It is also desirable so that packaging can be accomplishedorderly and uniformly. Preferably, the side-panel assemblies 320 aretemporarily staked to the ear tab forming material 316. The temporarystaking can be done, for instance but not by way of limitation, by alight application of adhesive, by a light compression bond, by a lightcompression bond assisted by slight penetration of pins through thelayers, by a weak ultrasonic bond, or by other types of temporary andlight bonds may be employed.

Referring now to FIGS. 22-25, after the side-panel assembly 320 has beencoupled to the ear tab forming material 316, and after the side-panelassembly 320 has been folded, the side panel and wing assembly 320+316is treated as the ear 12 was treated with reference to FIGS. 1-17. Forinstance, the side panel assembly 320 and ear tab 316 can be re-phased(FIGS. 22-23), then die-cut, repitched, and rotated (FIGS. 24-25).

In particular, the ear portion configurations 312 c and 312 d can beslip-cut together with a unit such as shown on FIG. 8 or 8 a onto themachine shown on FIG. 9, which would die-cut, re-pitch and rotate everyother wing assembly as shown on FIG. 24.

The 316 a lane would be treated by one of the ear turner assemblies 200R(right) or 200L (left) of FIG. 11, and the 316 b lane would be treatedby the other of the 200R or 200L ear turner assemblies.

As a result, and as shown on FIG. 25, every other of the ear portionconfigurations 312 c and 312 d will have been rotated 180° andre-phased, such that the 312 a/312 b ear portion configurations willappear identical to the rotated 312 c/312 d ear portion configurationsand the 316 a and 316 b lanes would be mirror images of one another.

Referring now to FIG. 26, the ears 312 and side panels 320 have beenproperly oriented and re-phased such that right front ear 312 b (frontof product, no side panel 320 attached) and its associated right backear 312 d (back of product, with a side panel 320 attached and folded)are mirrored with left front ear 312 c (front of product, no side panel320 attached) and its associated left back ear 312 d (back of product,with a side panel 320 attached and folded). These ears 312 and sidepanels 320 are introduced to, and coupled with web 10 (or chassis topsheet), typically a composite material used in formation of diaperswhich is generally formed of various layers of material such as plasticback sheets, absorbent pads 340 and nonwoven top sheets (visible inFIGS. 27 and 28).

Referring now to FIG. 27, the next step is to fold the ears 312 b and312 c, and 312 a and 312 d their associated side panels 320 down, inoverlapping fashion, such that either one of lanes 316 a and 316 b isfolded down first, followed by the other. As can be seen, the ears 312 band 312 c, and 312 a and 312 d their associated side panels 320 arefolded into, and narrower than, the width of the chassis assembly 10 inthe cross-machine direction.

FIG. 28 is an in-use plan view of a inventive disposable product formedby the methods of the present invention. As can be seen, the ears 312 aand 312 d are coupled to their associated side panels 320, which hadbeen previously folded onto the ears 312. A user can place the absorbentpad 340 in the crotch region, and couple the fastening mechanisms 322 ofthe side panels 320 about the waist, to reach the front of ears 312 band 312 c and fasten the disposable product.

Referring now to FIGS. 29-42, schematic and plan views of methods ofassembling a disposable product, including forming a nested zero wasteear to a nested zero waste wing portion, attaching ear and wing portionsto a chassis top sheet, and folding the product to form a folded diaperare shown. In general, the product shown in FIGS. 29-42 is formed bycutting (preferably die cutting) a web (preferably a stretch laminate ornon-woven) to form an ear, alternately turning and attaching the ear toa wing, fold and stack the ear to the wing, die cutting the wing,alternately turning and attaching wing and ear assembly to a chassis,folding and stacking a wing to a chassis non-woven.

Referring to FIG. 29, the process begins with a web portion 1000(preferably non-woven), introduced into the system, which, as shown inFIG. 30, is split and spread into four lanes of non-woven webs 1002,1004, 1006, and 1008, similar to that described above with reference toFIG. 19a . Instead of the rectangular cuts created of the discretenon-woven web portions 318 a, 318 b, 318 c, and 318 d of FIG. 19a , theears 1012 shown in formation of the ear of FIGS. 29-32 can be cut of azero waste trapezoidal configuration as shown, or other zero wasterectangular or non-rectangular configurations (such as in FIGS. 7a-7f ).

As shown in FIG. 31, tapes 1022 are applied to the non-woven (similar to322 and 322′ of FIG. 19a ) and folded. Next, referring to FIG. 32 theears 1012 are die cut, repitched and rotated, in the fashion shown, forinstance utilizing a machine depicted in FIGS. 11-14. The finalorientations shown tapes 1022 folded in-line of the ears 1012, and theear orientations after folding resulting in four different earorientations, 1012 a, 1012 b, 1012 c, and 1012 d.

In orientation 1012 a, the tapes 1022 are on the top side, with the longside (opposite the top side) on the bottom side. In orientation 1012 b,the tapes 1022 are on the bottom side, with the long side (opposite thebottom side) on the top side. Similar rotation and resultingorientations are shown with respect to 1012 c and 1012 d.

Referring to FIGS. 33 and 34, a wing web 1040, preferably non-woven forreceiving folded tapes 1022 coupled to ears 1012 is shown, with wing web1040 slit and spread such as in FIGS. 18 and 19, and the ear aftercutting, repitching and rotation, is introduced to the wing web as shownin FIG. 35 (similar to FIG. 20 above).

As can be seen in FIG. 35, the folded tapes 1022 coupled to ears 1012are introduced in the fashion shown, with the 1042 lane of wing webmaterial receiving folded tapes 1022 coupled to ears 1012 in orientation1012 a coupled to a wing web portion 1042 b, such that the short edge ofthe trapezoid in the cross-machine direction (left to right) receivesthe long edge of the ears 1012 from the 1012 a orientation. The shortedge of wing web portions 1042 a in the cross-machine direction receivesthe long edge of ear 1012 in the 1012 b orientation. The configurationthat results is pictured in FIG. 35, also regarding lane 1044 of wingweb material with the short portions of portions 1040 a in thecross-machine direction receiving ears 1012 in the 1012 c orientation onthe long side of the 1012 c orientation in the cross-machine direction,and similarly with portions 1044 b receiving 1012 d orientated ears 1012d as shown.

All of the ears are then folded down as shown in FIG. 36, such thatportions 1042 a and 1042 b host ears 1012, while portions 1042 c and1042 d do not host ears. Portions 1044 a and 1044 b host ear portions1012 orientaed in the 1012 c and 1012 d orientations, respectively.

In FIGS. 36-40, the process continues as shown, similar to the processdescribed above in relation to FIGS. 21-27. A representative product asshown in FIG. 41 is formed thereby, its cross section shown in FIG. 42.

Referring to FIG. 37, it is seen that every other of the pair ofelements from the 1042 lane are rotated. The 1042 d and adjacent 1042 aelements are not rotated, while the 1042 b and adjacent 1044 c arerotated 180° into sequence. Similarly with respect to lane 1044,elements 1044 c and 1044 b are rotated into sequence while elements 1044a and 1044 d are not rotated in orientation relative to the machinedirection.

What can be seen in FIG. 38 is that the elements have been positionedproperly to be deposited onto a chassis web (preferably pre-formed withthe elements such as an absorbent core, top sheet and back sheet asshown, but not labeled in the remaining figures). All of the folding ofthe ear portions 1012 on the wing portions 104 s are to the top of lane1042 and the bottom of lane 1044, so that when a chassis portion iscoupled between lanes 1042 and 1044 as shown in FIG. 39, the wings 1042a carrying ears 1012 d and 1044 a can form two waist-wrapping portions.The space between elements 1042 a and 1042 c will form left leg portionsand the space between elements 1044 a and 1044 c will form right legportions.

Referring now to FIG. 40, the elements 1042 a (carrying ear 1012 a),1042 b (carrying ear 1012 b), 1042 c and 1042 d, as well as 1044 a(carrying ear 1012 d), 1044 b (carrying ear 1012 c), 1044 c and 1044 dare folded over to be in-line with the chassis web 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 43-60, and additional embodiment is formed usingthe procedure shown therein.

Referring to FIG. 43, a laminate is shown after slit stretching(501-504), and four lanes of hook material 505 are shown below. In FIG.44, the hooks 505 are shown attached to the stretch laminate webs501-504, while additional slit outer non-woven web 510 and 512 isintroduced, and as shown in FIG. 45, the stretch laminate webs 501-504are coupled to outer non-woven webs 510 and 512 as shown, for instanceby ultrasonic bond methods. Next, as shown in FIG. 46, the side panellaminate is folded as shown. The side panel laminate is slit as shown inFIG. 47, forming side panel assemblies 501/501 a, 502/501 b, 503/501 c,and 504/501 d respectively.

Next, the back ear web 610 a, 610 b (preferably non-woven) as shownbeing formed in FIG. 51 and slit in FIG. 52, are introduced, preferablyin slip/cut fashion to and coupled with the side panel assemblies501/501 a, 502/501 b, 503/501 c, and 504/501 d as shown in FIG. 48.

The side panel assemblies 501/501 a, 502/501 b, 503/501 c, and 504/501 dare then folded and preferably temporarily staked together as shown inFIG. 49.

Next, the side panel assemblies side panel assemblies 501/510 a, 502/510b, 503/510 c, and 504/510 d coupled with respective back ear webportions 610 a 1, 610 a 2, 610 a 3, and 610 a 4, and 610 b 1, 610 b 2,610 b 3, and 610 b 4 are die cut, repitched and rotated according toFIGS. 50a to result in the end orientation shown in FIG. 50b , whereinevery other of 610 a 1, 610 a 2, 610 a 3, and 610 a 4 has been rotated180 degrees, and every other of 610 b 1, 610 b 2, 610 b 3, and 610 b 4has also been rotated 180 degrees and rephrased to result in the matchedfolded right and left sets.

The front ear non-woven web 702/704, and particularly portions 702 a,702 b, 702 c, and 702 d, and 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, and 704 d are shownbeing formed and slit in FIGS. 53 and 54, and then die cut, repitched,and rotated as shown in FIGS. 55-56.

As shown in FIG. 57, the front ear non-woven portions 702 a, 702 b, 702c, and 702 d, and 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, and 704 d are introduced to andcoupled about opposite sides of the chassis web 10, and the respectiveback ear web portions 610 a 1, 610 a 2, 610 a 3, and 610 a 4, havingbeen properly aligned, as well as respective back ear web portions 610 b1, 610 b 2, 610 b 3, and 610 b 4 also having been properly aligned, arelikewise introduced to and coupled about opposite sides of the chassisweb 10 as shown in FIG. 58, positioned alternating with front earportions as shown.

The front ear portions 702 a, 702 b, 702 c, and 702 d, and 704 a, 704 b,704 c, and 704 d; and the back ear web portions 610 a 1, 610 a 2, 610 a3, and 610 a 4; and 610 b 1, 610 b 2, 610 b 3, and 610 b 4; are allfolded to conform with (slightly greater than, equal to, or slightlyless than) the cross-machine directional width of the chassis 10 asshown in FIG. 59.

A product is formed having the configuration shown in FIG. 60.

It is contemplated that it may be desirable to provide a disposableproduct with a contoured or curved leg opening 1200 by trimming aportion of a combined web 1202 after wings 1042 a-1042 d,1044 a-1044 dhave been placed on the chassis web 10 as shown in FIGS. 61 and 62. Forillustrative purposes, the combined web 1202 and resulting disposablegarment 1204 of FIGS. 39-41 are shown in FIGS. 61 and 62, however, itshould be understood that the methods described herein may be utilizedon any combined web. Preferably, the combined web 1202 includes achassis web 10, a plurality of ear carrying wings 1042 a, 1042 b, 1044a, 1044 b and non-ear carrying wings 1042 c, 1042 d, 1044 c, 1044 d asshown in FIG. 39.

Preferably, a portion of the ear carrying wings 1042 a, 1042 b, 1044 a,1044 b and the non-ear carrying wings 1042 c, 1042 d, 1044 c, 1044 d oneach side of the garment 1204 may be removed to create a contouredshape, as shown in FIG. 61. However, it is also contemplated that aportion of the chassis web 10 between the ear carrying wing 1042 a, 1042b, 1044 a, 1044 b and non-ear carrying wing 1042 c, 1042 d, 1044 c, 1044d may also be removed to create a contoured shape as shown in FIG. 62.For example, as shown in FIG. 61, a portion of the chassis web between afirst non-ear carrying wing portion 1042 d and a first ear carrying wingportion 1042 b has been removed.

It is contemplated that any means known in the art may be utilized toremove the desired portions of the wings 1042 a-1042 d,1044 a-1044 dand, if desired, chassis web 10, to create the contoured leg opening1200. For example, and not by way of limitation, a knife roll may beutilized to cut the garment leg opening 1200 to the desired contour. Insuch a system, a contoured knife roll, with a cutting edge sized andconfigured to cut the leg opening 1200 to the desired shape would beprovided. It is contemplated that both the left 1200 a and the right1200 b leg opening could be cut at the same time for example with aknife roll with two cutting surfaces, or that a pair of knife rolls, onefor the left leg opening 1200 a and one for the right leg opening 1200 bmay be utilized. Each knife roll is provided with an associated anvil,as is well known in the art. In use, the anvil and the knife roll eachrotate, with the combined web 1202 to be cut between the surface of theknife roll and the anvil. As the knife roll rotates, the cutting edgecuts the combined web 1202 against the anvil.

It is further contemplated that a trim removal system 1210 such as shownin FIG. 63 may be utilized to remove the cut chips from the combined web1202. FIG. 63 shows an infeed web 1202, and a chip or chips 1230 to beremoved therefrom. A transfer roll 1214 and an associated trim shoe ortrim shoes 1212 are provided to engage the combined web 1202 and chips1230. Preferably, the trim shoes 1212 are shaped complimentary with thechips 1230. Vacuum ports 1216 are provided on the transfer roll 1214 andtrim shoes 1212 for maintaining the combined web 1202 and chips 1230 inclose contact with the transfer roll 1214 and trim shoes 1212. It isnoted that other methods of cutting the web, in addition to theparticular trim removal system 1210 may be used to form the products ofthe present invention. It is also noted that the chip removal system1210 as pictured, is configured to cut two chips 1230 from the incomingweb 1202 at outboard portions of the incoming web 1202. Different shoe1212 configurations can be used to cut different sized and/or shapedchips 1230, such as the chips 1230 desired to be removed from successiveback ears 1042 a and 1042 b as shown in FIG. 76, or chips 1230 frombetween successive front ears 1042 c and 1042 d as shown in FIG. 76 ifdesired. Compare FIG. 76 showing chips removed between successive frontears 1042 c and 1042 d, and FIG. 77, with no chips between front betweenfront ears 1042 c and 1042 d.

An inner axle 1218 and an outer axle 1220 are coupled to the transferroll 1214 (or hub 1222) and the trim shoes 1212, respectively. The inneraxle 1218 and the outer axle 1220 are capable of being operated atdifferent speeds in relation to one another by servo motor (not shown).This difference in speed allows the trim shoes 1212 to rotate faster orslower with respect to the transfer roll 1214 as desired. In use, aswill be described later, this speed differential creates a rippingeffect by first pulling the combined web 1202 away from the chip 30 asthe transfer roll 1214 is rotating faster than the shoe 1212, then bypulling the chip 1230 away from the combined web 1202 as the shoe 1212is rotating faster than the transfer roll 1214.

Referring now to FIG. 64, a two dimensional representation of the trimshoe 1212 and transfer roll 1214 of FIG. 63 is shown. As can be seen,vacuum channels 1217 communicate with vacuum ports 1216 on both the trimshoe 1212 and transfer roll 1214 to maintain control of the chip 1230and combined web 1202. From this perspective, it can be seen thatdifferent rotational speeds of the trim shoe 1212 and transfer roll 1214will cause a ripping effect by first pulling the web 1202 away from thechip 1230 as the transfer roll 1214 is rotating faster than the shoe1212, then by pulling the chip 1230 away from the combined web 1202 asthe shoe 1212 is rotating faster than the transfer roll 1214.

FIG. 65 is a cross sectional view of a trim shoe 1212 and transfer roll1214 of the present invention. As can be seen, vacuum is communicated toports 1216 through channels 1217, which are coupled to a source ofvacuum (not shown). Rotation of the outer axle 1220, which is coupled tothe shoe 1212, causes rotation of the shoe 1212. The inner axle 1218 iscoupled preferably to hub 1222 and to transfer roll 1214.

Referring now to FIGS. 66-71, a sequence is shown of the trim removalsystem 1210 removing chips 1230 and discharging them, and then thesystem 1210 returning to its initial position to remove more chips 1230from the next segment of web 1202. FIGS. 72-75 are plan views of theposition of the chips 1230 relative to the web 1202 at the positionsassociated with FIGS. 66-68 respectively, demonstrating the rippingeffects of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 66, a schematic view of the system 1210 is shownreceiving an infeed web 1202. In this figure, die and anvil system 1226is shown rotating to engage the web 1202 and cut from it chips 1230 (notapparent in this view), as is well known in the art. Unfortunately, thedie of the die and anvil system 1226 is susceptible to wear and tear andrequires replacement once the die dulls to an unacceptable condition.

In this view, the trim shoe 1212 can be seen in an initial chip engagingposition, aligned to receive the chip 1230 of the web 1202 onto the shoe1212, which, as described previously, will be urged against the surfaceof the shoe 1212 by vacuum ports 1216. The trim shoe 1212 will be seento be rotating about outer axis 1220. In this view, a discharge chute1228 is shown for ultimately receiving waste chips 1230, and an outfeedconveyor 1240 is provided for receiving the web 1202 with the chip 1230removed, for further processing and manufacturing steps in thecomposition of the disposable garments, as desired.

Inner axle 1218 is preferably operated at a first continuous speed,rotating hub 1222 and transfer roll 1214 at a continuous speed,consistent with the infeed speed of the web 1202. At this initial chipengaging position shown in FIG. 66, the outer axle 1220, and associatedshoes 1212, are rotated at the same speed as the inner axle 1218.

The position of the chip 1230 relative to the web 1202 is shown in FIG.72 for the initial chip engaging position. In this position, the anviland die 1226 has created a sever, but the chip 1230 and web 1202 couldremain somewhat coupled depending on the sharpness of the die 1226. Thesevering method shown in the figures, particularly the severing trimremoval device 1210 is just one method of forming the novel products ofthe present invention, other methods of severing and/or trim removal maybe used.

Referring now to FIG. 67, the outer axle 1220, and associated shoes1212, are toggled slower than inner axle 1218 to allow the web 1202 tobe ripped from the chip 1230 at the leading edge of the chip 1230 in themachine direction. It is apparent in this view that the distance betweenthe trailing edge of the shoes 1212 has become closer to the leadingedge of the transfer roll 1214. This ripping is caused by the main web1202 being ripped away from the chip 1230 at the leading edge of thechip 1230 as is shown in associated FIG. 73.

Referring now to FIG. 68, the outer axle 1220 is toggled equal to andthen faster than the inner axle 1218, to allow the chips 1230 to ripfrom the web 1202 at the trailing edge of the chips 30 as is shown inassociated FIG. 74. At this point in the process, the chip 1230 will beremoved from the web 1202 by ripping first the main web 1202 away fromthe chip 1230 at the leading edge of the chip 1230, and next by rippingthe trailing edge of the chip 1230 from the web 1202.

The outfeed conveyor 1240 is provided for receiving the web 1202 withthe chip 1230 removed as shown in FIG. 75, for further processing andmanufacturing steps in the composition of the disposable garments, asdesired. The vacuum of the transfer roll 1214 can be turned off at thispoint to allow for release of the web 1202 to the conveyor, for instancein accordance with application Ser. No. 11/141,552, entitled “High SpeedVacuum Porting” which is incorporated herein by reference.

Referring now to FIG. 69, the chip 1230 is discharged into a dischargechute 1228, which is preferably vacuum assisted, although othercollection means would satisfactorily accomplish the function ofcollecting waste chips 1230. It is noted that vacuum is allowed to turnoff of the shoes 1212 to allow the chips 1230 to release into the chute1228. Alternatively a vacuum in the chute 1228 could simply be providedthat is stronger than the vacuum applied to the shoes 1212.

The rotational speed of the shoes 1212 and outer axle 1220, which werefirst operated at a speed roughly equal to inner axle 1218, rotating hub1222 and transfer roll 1214, initially decreased, or lagged as is shownby comparing FIG. 66 with FIG. 67.

Next, the rotational speed of the shoes 1212 and outer axle 1220,increased, or surged relative to the inner axle 1218, rotating hub 1222and transfer roll 1214.

In order to return to the initial chip engaging position, the rotationalspeed of the shoes 1212 and outer axle 1220, must again decrease, or lagrelative to the inner axle 1218, rotating hub 1222 and transfer roll1214. This lag is apparent by comparing FIG. 68 to FIGS. 69, 70 and 71.Finally, in FIG. 71, through one revolution, the system 1210 has removedand discharged the chips 1230, discharged the web 1202 for furtherprocessing, and the shoes 1212 have been returned to their initialposition to remove more chips 1230 from the next segment of web 1202.

It is contemplated that the die of the die and anvil system 1226 in theabove described trim removal apparatus may be replaced by a perforatingapparatus. The perforating apparatus preferably forms the chips 1230 onthe web 1202, but does not completely sever the chips 1230 from the web1202. The perforated chips 1230 perforated could then be removed fromthe web 1202 in the same manner described above. The perforatingapparatus may take any form known in the art including, but not limitedto, a perforating die roll.

It is further contemplated that the chips may be removed from the wings1042 a-1042 d,1044 a-1044 d prior to attaching the wings 1042 a-1042d,1044 a-1044 d to the chassis web 10. The chips may be removed from thewings 1042 a-1042 d,1044 a-1044 d, using any means known in the art. Forexample, the wing web 1042,1044 may be fed between an anvil and kniferoll, the knife roll having a cutting edge sized and configured to cutthe desired chips from the wings 1042 a-1042 d,1044 a-1044 d.

Although the illustrated embodiments of FIGS. 61, 62 and 76 show aparticular configuration or shape of chip being removed from the wings1042 a-1042 d,1044 a-1044 d and web 10, is contemplated that the chipsremoved from the wings 1042 a-1042 d,1044 a-1044 d could take anydesired shapes to provide a contoured leg opening 1200.

It is further contemplated that, if desired, chips could be removed fromonly the ear carrying wings 1042 a, 1042 b, 1044 a, 1044 b or thenon-ear carrying wings 1042 c, 1042 d, 1044 c, 1044 d. For example, FIG.77 shows a chip removed from only the ear carrying wings 1042 a, 1042 b,1044 a, 1044 b. The chips may be cut from the desired wings 1042 a-1042d,1044 a-1044 d using any means known in the art, including those meansdescribed above.

It is further contemplated that chips may be removed from the wings 1042a-1042 d,1044 a-1044 d and the chassis 10 in separate steps as shown inFIG. 78. For example, chips may be cut from the wings 1042 a-1042 d,1044a-1044 d in a first step and then cut from the web 10 in a second step,or vice versa. The chips may be cut from the wings 1042 a-1042 d,1044a-1044 d and web 10 using any means known in the art, including thosemeans described above.

Referring now to FIGS. 79-90, using the principles of the presentinvention, several product configuration variations are shown. Forinstance, it is possible to pre-apply either front 1042(c or d) or1044(c or d) or back 1042(a or b) or 1044(a or b) ears to a chassis webusing previously known slip/cut techniques (e.g., the slip/cut appliedears 1144 shown in FIG. 79), and then use the alternate rotationtechnique of the present invention to assemble a novel productconfiguration (see., e.g., FIG. 79). Similarly, it is possible topost-apply either front or back ears to a chassis web using previouslyknown slip/cut techniques, after using the alternate rotation techniqueof the present invention to assemble a novel product configuration,resulting in a configuration such as FIG. 79. In this method, theslip/cut technique is used to, for instance, apply each front ear 1144(both left and right front ears 1144, FIG. 79), and the alternatingrotation technique described previously is used to apply each back earportion (e.g., 1042 b and 1044 b, FIG. 79)

Additionally, it is seen that extension panels 1012 can be applied ornot, if desired (compare FIG. 79 with extension panels 1012 and FIG. 85,without extension panels 1012) to the back ear portions 1044 if desired,and that those extension panels 1012 can be paired with the back ears1044 with the extension panels 1012 in pre-folded (or unfolded)condition if desired (e.g., shown unfolded, with fold lines, on FIG.79). Additionally, front ear portions 1144 can arrive at the chassis webin a pre-folded condition (e.g., shown unfolded, with fold lines, onFIG. 79), if a wider front ear portion 1144 is desired. Theseconfigurations can also be combined with the chip removal techniquepreviously discussed (or any other chip removal or die cutting or earweb formation technique), in which curved portions of either one or bothears 1144, 1044, or 1042, or a leg portion 1200 a and 1200 b of thechassis, or any combination of the foregoing (see, e.g., FIGS. 80 and81), the product configurations of FIGS. 79-90 can be achieved.

Referring to FIG. 79, a plan view of a product variation showingslip/cut applied front ears 1144, alternately rotated back ears 1042,1044, and extension panels 1012 extending from the back ears 1042, 1044is shown.

Referring to FIG. 80, the embodiment of FIG. 79 is shown, with theadditional product feature of leg portions 1200 a and 1200 b of thechassis removed from the chassis, to fit around the leg of a wearer.

Referring to FIG. 81, the embodiment of FIG. 80 is shown, with theadditional product feature of chips 1230 having been removed from boththe front ear and back ear portions of the product, for instance usingthe severing and chip removal pattern of FIG. 76.

Referring to FIG. 82, a plan view of a product variation showingalternately rotated front and back ears using the techniques describedabove (e.g., using the technique to construct the embodiments shown inFIG. 28 and/or FIG. 60 above) is shown.

Referring to FIG. 83, the embodiment of FIG. 82 is shown, with theadditional product feature of leg portions 1200 a and 1200 b of thechassis removed from the chassis, to fit around the leg of a wearer.

Referring to FIG. 84, the embodiment of FIG. 83 is shown with theadditional product feature of chips 1230 having been removed from boththe front ear and back ear portions of the product, for instance usingthe severing and chip removal pattern of FIG. 76.

Referring to FIG. 85 a plan view of a product variation showing slip/cutapplied front ears 1144, and alternately rotated back ears is shown.

Referring to FIG. 86, the embodiment of FIG. 85 is shown, with theadditional product feature of leg portions 1200 a and 1200 b of thechassis removed from the chassis, to fit around the leg of a wearer.

Referring to FIG. 87, the embodiment of FIG. 86 is shown with theadditional product feature of chips 1230 having been removed from boththe front ear and back ear portions of the product, for instance usingthe severing and chip removal pattern of FIG. 76.

Referring to FIG. 88, a plan view of a product variation showingalternately rotated applied front ears, and alternately rotated backears, using the previously described techniques, for instance thetechnique used to construct the product configuration shown in FIG. 28is shown, with the exception that no extension panel is present in theembodiment shown in FIG. 88.

Referring to FIG. 89, the embodiment of FIG. 88 is shown, with theadditional product feature of leg portions 1200 a and 1200 b of thechassis removed from the chassis, to fit around the leg of a wearer

Referring to FIG. 90, the embodiment of FIG. 89 is shown with theadditional product feature of chips 1230 having been removed from boththe front ear and back ear portions of the product, for instance usingthe severing and chip removal pattern of FIG. 76.

Referring to FIG. 91 a schematic plan view of an extension panelnonwoven web 801/802 is shown, receiving tapes 805, which are thenfolded down over the extension panel nonwoven web 801/802. A stretchlaminate web 810 a/810 b is provided, which receives slit and spreadextension panels 801/802 of the extension panel nonwoven, and thecombination stretch laminate web 810 a/810 b coupled with the extensionpanels 801/802 holding folded ears 805, is itself slit and spread.

Referring now to FIG. 92, side panel nonwoven web is provided with chipportions 911 for later removal. As shown in FIG. 93, the side panelnonwoven web 910A/910B receives (preferably by slip/cut techniques)discrete pieces of the combination stretch laminate web 810 a/810 bcoupled with the extension panels 801/802 holding folded ears 805. Thecombination stretch laminate web 810 a/810 b coupled with the extensionpanels 801/802 holding folded ears 805 is then folded over, as shown inFIG. 94, slit and spread as shown in FIG. 95. Next, chips 911 areremoved as shown in FIG. 96. Next, discrete combination stretch laminateweb 810 a/810 b coupled with the extension panels 801/802 holding foldedears 805 carried by the nonwoven web 910A/910B portions are thensevered, and joined with a chassis web as shown in FIG. 98. Next, a diecut unit is used to sever discrete diapers as shown in FIG. 99 whichshows a plan view of a finished diaper in a laid open position. Thesevering takes place between desired portions of the combination stretchlaminate web 810 a/810 b coupled with the extension panels 801/802holding folded ears 805, carried by carried by the nonwoven web910A/910B to form a discrete product.

Referring now to FIG. 100, an alternate chip pattern 911′ is shown, foruse in the construction of FIGS. 91-99. This shape allows for greaterflexibility in the positioning of the sever to form discrete diapers.

Referring now to FIG. 101, an apparatus for placing ears 12 on a chassisweb 10, with zero waste, from a single incoming lane 16 is shown. Thisembodiment is useful if it is desired to avoid rotation of the ears aspreviously described, about two different rotational axes.

In FIG. 101, a method of coupling ears to a web is disclosed, the methodcomprising providing an incoming web of ear material 16, creating a leftear shape 12 and a complementary right ear shape 12 (for examples, seeFIG. 104), from incoming web of ear material 16. Next, the left earshape is separated from the right ear shape 12 by a canted right earrotational and spreading assembly 1120 r and a canted left earrotational and spreading assembly 1120 l, said canted right earrotational and spreading assembly 1120 r carrying a series of right earcarrying pucks 1126 r to carry said right ear shapes 12, and said cantedleft ear rotational and spreading assembly 1120 l carrying a series ofleft ear carrying pucks 1126 l to carry said left ear shapes 12. Anincoming chassis web 10 receives left ears 12 onto a first edge portionof said incoming chassis web 10 from said canted left ear rotational andspreading assembly 1120 l (or, alternatively from secondary rotatingmember 1122 l as will be described later), and right ears 12 aredeposited similarly. The canted right and left ear rotational andspreading assembly 1120R and 1120L rotate faster than incoming web 10,thereby accelerating individual ear portions 12 when cut and received bythe right and left ear rotational and spreading assembly 1120R and1120L.

The apparatus provides for synchronized anvil/die combination 1110 tosever the incoming web 16 into desired preferably symmetrical ear shapes12, such as those shown in FIGS. 7A-7E, or shown in FIG. 104. A cantedright and a canted left ear rotational and spreading assembly 1120R and1120L acquires individually cut ears 12 (for instance, by slip/cuttechniques), which are carried for instance on pucks 1126R and 1126L,for instance of the vacuum assisted variety shown as pucks 234 on FIGS.10a and 10B. The canted spreading assemblies provide for cross machinedirection displacement of ears 12 so that ears can be simultaneouslyspread and accelerated to be placed as desired, with ear 12 rotationabout only a single axis, the axis rotating canted right and the axisrotating a canted left ear rotational and spreading assembly 1120R and1120L, but canted pucks, relative to the axis of rotation, allowscorrect orientation when picking up and depositing ears 12.

In a preferred embodiment of this apparatus, there is no axial rotationof ears 12 so that the shape of the ear 12 can be provided forsymmetrical with respect to right and left ears, with zero incoming webwasted.

The rotational and spreading assemblies 1120R and 1120L are preferablyprovided with vacuum in order to maintain the ears 12 during rotationand then release the ears onto secondary right rotational assembly 1122Rand secondary left rotational assembly 1122L which further spread theears 12, and further speed up the ears 12 to a depositional velocity ofthe chassis web 10. Preferably, the secondary right rotational assembly1122R and secondary left rotational assembly 1122L also rotate ears 12about a rotational axis, but it is not required to rotate the ears aboutthe axis of the ears. The secondary right rotational assembly 1122R andsecondary left rotational assembly 1122L are also preferably vacuumassisted to control ears 12, and likewise contain pucks 1128R and 1128L,again similar to the pucks 234 of FIGS. 10a and 10B.

The right rotational assembly 1120R will spread the right ears and speedup the right ears from the incoming velocity to a depositional velocityof the chassis web 10. The left rotational assembly 1120L will spreadthe left ears and speed up the left ears from the incoming velocity to adepositional velocity of the chassis web 10. It is noted that the leftor right ears could be provided in a line vertically spaced from itsintended deposition point, and then just one of the other of the left orright ears would require cross-machine direction displacement fordeposition.

As can be seen from the side perspective view of FIGS. 102 and 103, theembodiment shown in FIG. 101; the pucks 1126L and 1126L are nested suchthat they pick up ears 12 coming in sequence. Also preferably, the pucksare canted at an angle relative to their rotation, such that the pick uppoints and deposition points of the ears 12 are relatively horizontalrelative to the machine direction. The pucks 1126L and 1126L match upwith rotating pucks 1128R and 1128L respectively, to deposit the earsprior to deposition on chassis web 10.

A small mismatch in speeds is preferred between the pucks 1128R and1128L respectively is preferable to get the product pickup and placementto match.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changeswill readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired tolimit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed. While the preferred embodiment has been described, thedetails may be changed without departing from the invention, which isdefined by the claims.

We claim:
 1. A method of creating a disposable product, the methodcomprising: providing an extension panel web; coupling tapes to a firstedge and a second edge of said extension panel web; folding said tapesover said first and second edges of said extension panel web; bondingsaid extension panel web to a stretch laminate web at a first portion ofsaid stretch laminate web and a second portion of said stretch laminateweb to form a combination web; slitting and spreading said combinationweb in a machine direction into first and second combination webs;slitting said first and second combination webs in a cross-machinedirection into first and second discrete combination web portions;providing a side panel web having a top edge and a bottom edge;intermittently coupling said first discrete combination web portion tosaid top edge of said side panel web; intermittently coupling saidsecond discrete combination web portion to said bottom edge of said sidepanel web; folding said first and said second discrete combination webportions over said top and bottom edges of side panel web; slitting andspreading said side panel web into a top side panel portion and a bottomside panel portion; removing a portion of said side panel web from saidtop side panel portion between said discrete combination web portions;removing a portion of said side panel web from said bottom side panelportion between said discrete combination web portions; subsequentlyproviding a chassis assembly having a top side portion and a bottom sideportion; intermittently coupling said top side panel portion to said topside of said chassis assembly; intermittently coupling said bottom sidepanel portion to said bottom side portion of said chassis assembly; andcutting said chassis assembly and said side panel portions in thecross-machine direction adjacently to said discrete combination webportions to create a single product.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising removal of a portion of said side panel web from said bottomside panel portion between said discrete combination web portions tocreate a leg contour, said removal step creating a chip of said sidepanel web for removal.